


Morning Politics

by RushReylo



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Christian Holidays, Christmas, Christmas Decorations, Christmas Dinner, Christmas Eve, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Movies, Christmas Music, Christmas Party, Christmas Smut, F/M, Fluff, HEA, Holidays, M/M, News Media, Politics, TV News, slight discussion of grandchildren
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:08:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24874363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RushReylo/pseuds/RushReylo
Summary: Rey Palpatine and Benjamin Skywalker-Solo are news anchors on the most watched political morning tv show. They’re also the conservative and liberal perspectives of their generation. Their legendary screaming matches can’t be beat and everyone knows how much they hate each other.“You know that's my chair!” Rey wailed. “What is the matter with you today? You can easily stand up and switch with me.”Ben held up a finger, looking at himself in front of the mirror, unmoving while Kaydel dabbed his face with his favorite oil blotting sheets. “You snooze, you lose, Palpatine. You can sit next to me or behind me, but today, this is my chair.”“Ben, this isn’t fair. You barely fit in that seat!”Mitaka walked in, interrupting them. “Sir, John Oliver’s staff reached out to me. They want you on his show Last Week Tonight. Are you interested?”For the Enemies to Lovers Theme for The Reylo Theme Event SummerBased on a prompt fromFran.Prompt is in the notes below, I don't want to spoil it for you.Please note, this is political - but not. This has nothing to do with current US Politics, its an AU.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Leia Organa/Han Solo, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Poe Dameron/Finn, Rey & Ben Solo, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 111
Kudos: 268
Collections: Galactic Idiots Collection, Reylo Theme Event Summer





	1. ONE

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BensCalligraphySet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BensCalligraphySet/gifts).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You know that's my chair!” Rey wailed. “What is the matter with you today? You can easily stand up and switch with me.” 
> 
> Ben held up a finger, looking at himself in front of the mirror, unmoving while Kaydel dabbed his face with his favorite oil blotting sheets. “You snooze, you lose, Palpatine. You can sit next to me or behind me, but today, this is my chair.”
> 
> “Ben, this isn’t fair. You barely fit in that seat!” 
> 
> Mitaka walked in, interrupting them. “Sir, John Oliver’s staff reached out to me. They want you on his show Last Week Tonight. Are you interested?” 
> 
> For the Enemies to Lovers Theme for The Reylo Theme Event Summer
> 
> Based on a prompt from the amazing Fran, if you dont already, follow her twitter [HERE](https://twitter.com/galacticidiots), one of her prompts gave me the inspiration. Thanks for your ideas, they're fantastic. 
> 
> Prompt is in the notes below, I don't want to spoil it for you. 
> 
>   
> **Please note, this is political - but not. This has nothing to do with current US Politics, its an AU.**

Rose held open the door for the main staff of _Morning Politics_ Each of them filed in silently, knowing today’s meeting was going to be a big one. Gwen, the sound engineer, walked in first with a flat smile on her face. Shortly after, she was followed by Hux, the director, and Finn, the technical director. She had to clear her throat to get Poe inside and as their floor manager, you’d think he would be more aware instead of talking to Kaydel about happy hour later. Finally, Benjamin Skywalker-Solo and Rey Palpatine strode in, sitting across from each other. This was the first time in over a year that the group had been called into a closed door meeting from Rose, the producer of the show. 

A tray full of scones, croissants, danishes, and donuts rested on the table, and they each grabbed their breakfast snack of choice. One pink donut with sprinkles remained, and as Rey reached over to grab it, a large hand swooped underneath hers and took it instead. She stared at Ben as he ate it in two bites and then licked his fingers.

Rose stood at the end of the table, and started the meeting.

“I called today’s meeting because of our ratings. They’ve always gone down post election, but it's more steep than we expected. We’ve been the top morning political show for the past four years, and I intend to keep it that way. A lot of these shows start off with a big bang and then drop off, but pitting you two against each other every morning has been lightning in a bottle.”

Rose was right. No one expected the kind of success they had over the past four years. The idea of Leia Skywalker-Solo’s golden boy and Sheev Palpatine’s political prodigy granddaughter was not even supposed to be a permanent fixture but a series before the past election. Ben’s very liberal perspective and Rey’s conservative background made it easy for them to goad each other into daily political debates and arguments. Members of congress, governors, senators, and other elected officials lined up just to appear on the show, happy to get grilled by either or both of the hosts. Their notorious fights always boosted their ratings as everyone knew of their hatred for each other.

Rey tapped her pen incessantly on her notepad, listening but anxious.

“Could you stop that?” Ben snapped. “You’re not the only one in the room; it's pretty annoying.”

Rey’s eyes opened in shock. “Does that bother you?” she asked.

“If it didn’t I wouldn’t have said anything.”

She tapped her pen faster. 

Poe snorted but immediately covered his mouth when Ben glared at him.

“Jesus Christ, not right now. I know you two disagree on every _single_ thing except for racism, murder, sexual assault, and domestic abuse, but seriously? Rey—stop tapping your pen, and Ben? Shut the fuck up.” 

Ben and Rey looked away from each other, and Rey crossed her arms indignantly.

“Look, if you want to be in third place behind FOX’s daily political disaster and CNN’s regularly scheduled dumpster fire, then get the fuck out. You want to be like MSNBC’s morning show? Do they even have a morning show? Finn—goddamn it, are you googling it? I’m being sarcastic. Let me be more clear. Our ratings have dropped.”

The room went silent. 

“I pulled the six of you in here because I want to take care of this in house, before everyone finds out that your ratings have fallen in basically every demographic. Conservatives love to watch Rey school Ben, and the leftists tweet like maniacs when he puts you in your place as well.” She paused for a moment. “You two—you haven’t changed, you argue like idiots, and you are each both passionate about your values, whether or not I agree with them. So this is something we have to look at inside. Maybe change the format, change the approach or tactics. It’s why I called you all in, I want you to start thinking about different ways, things we can all do to get us back on top. This weekend, clear your schedules because we are all going to spend it here working on this.”

“I can’t do that—I’m flying out to Peru—the Ayahuasca retreat?” As Poe said _retreat_ , Rose’s eyes narrowed. He immediately corrected himself. “You know what, you’re right. I’m sure the 103 year old shaman will be there when I rebook it.”

“Good idea, Poe,” Rose replied. “Anyone else have any other more pressing events?” 

Hux raised his hand up timidly with two fingers in the sky. “It's uh, my wife and I, it's our 3 year anniversary, and I booked us a table at her favorite restaurant. It's a three month wait list. I planned on surprising her, but…” 

“Change it. She won’t mind, I’m sure of it,” Rose said flatly. “Unless, you think she is the kind of person that values a meal over your job?” Hux looked down, defeated.

Finn and Gwen each shook their heads when Rose looked at them individually, knowing better than to question their producer.

“Unless an immediate family member is getting married or dying, none of you are getting out of this.” She sighed. “You all aren’t just my coworkers, but my family. I know I’m being firm, but this is serious.”

She looked at her watch and grabbed her things. “It's time to prepare for the show. I’ll see you in the studio. You two—go to hair and makeup.” Rose strode out before anyone else could say anything.

“Shit,” Poe muttered. On his cellphone, he swiped, typing away. “It's too late to get any kind of refund on this.”

Rey raised an eyebrow at him, her arms still crossed. “Why don’t you rebook for another week?”

“It's a two year waiting period. This shaman is _the_ most sought out in the world. Seriously, no one cancels on this guy. I'm flushing 12K down the toilet right now.” 

“Poe, I’m sorry,” Ben said apologetically. “If the ratings have gone down, it's our fault. Last week we were off.” 

“ _We_ were off? Are you sure about that?” Rey snarled. “I think _I_ was pretty on. _You_ were the one who yawned three times in our interview with the governor last week. I assume your flavor of the week kept you up all night.”

Ben gave her a wolfish grin. “She did, actually. My neighbors too, I might add. One of them texted me for us to keep it down, but my girl was begging for it, and I’m not the kind of guy that's going to deny a woman’s request.” 

Rey’s eyes narrowed, and she opened her mouth to respond, but Gwen beat her to the punch. 

“I do not want to hear about your sexcapades, Solo. Try not to brag about your conquests, I just ate a croissant, ” Gwen stated, her face twisted in disgust. 

Finn had his phone pressed to his ear, shaking his head. “Could you all please be quiet for five minutes? I’m trying to help my boyfriend cancel his trip.” He rubbed Poe’s shoulder affectionately. 

Gwen snatched his phone out of his hands and hung up before he could grab it back. “All of us need to get to work. Cancel everything after. If Rose walks back in and sees us all in here, we are good as dead.” 

Hux, who was still clearly upset, stood and walked out. Everyone else followed behind him.

+

“You know that's my chair!” Rey wailed. “What is the matter with you today? You can easily stand up and switch with me.” 

Ben held up a finger, looking at himself in front of the mirror, unmoving while Kaydel dabbed his face with his favorite oil blotting sheets. “You snooze, you lose, Palpatine. You can sit next to me or behind me, but today, this is _my_ chair.”

“Ben, this isn’t fair. You barely fit in that seat!” 

Mitaka walked in, interrupting them. “Sir, John Oliver’s staff reached out to me. They want you on his show _Last Week Tonight_. Are you interested?” 

“Let him know I’ll only do it if he gives me one of his wild compliments.” 

Mitaka made the call on his way out of the room. Kaydel draped a cloth over Ben’s custom suit to make sure his makeup didn’t get on it. He still hadn’t looked at Rey as he ran his hands through his hair, giving his waves a slightly tousled look.

Rey growled and sat next to him, glaring at him through the mirror. Her frustration grew as Kaydel started her daily ritual of flirting with Ben, inviting him to the happy hour later that night as she bronzed his face. “Ben, you never come. You seriously have to join us. The first round is on me—you know I’m not a tease,” she said suggestively.

The corner of his mouth turned up ever so slightly. “You know what, maybe tonight’s the night.”

While they flirted, Tallie came in with a smile on her face and a curling iron in her hand. She distracted Rey as she styled her hair, her bubbly attitude a warm welcome after the meeting. As she applied the last of her makeup, Rey asked her about her upcoming plans for the weekend. Before she could reply, Ben turned on his hair dryer full blast and began restyling his hair.

Tallie rolled her eyes and looked at her in the mirror. She mouthed, “Asshole,” and Rey smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

+

As they sat on each side of their respective desks in the studio, Rey and Ben looked over their notes for the show which was starting in two minutes. Gwen, Finn, and Rose sat inside the control room, ready for battle. Poe shuffled everyone off the stage while Hux ordered the sound and camera crew to their respective stations.

When Poe counted down the last five seconds, Ben flashed his signature lopsided smirk to the camera, and Rey’s posture went straight. 

“Good morning, I'm Ben Solo.”

“And I am Rey Palpatine. Today on _Morning Politics,_ we are going to be discussing SB1285, the results of the general election, and….”

+

In the comms room Rose flicked a button, muting the earpieces of everyone outside. 

“When we go to commercial, I want you to leave their mics on and keep rolling.”

Finn and Gwen simultaneously turned their heads to Rose.

“Are you sure?” Gwen replied. 

“Yes.” She stared at Rey and Ben as they screamed at each other, oblivious to what she was about to do.

“They always banter—don’t go to commercial. Make it look like a mistake. I’ve listened in before. Sometimes they’re rude, sometimes they’re funny, sometimes it's just notes, but he’s been a dick all morning, so I have a feeling she’s going to say something to him. Let’s see if we can get them to go viral.”

“What if they swear? The FCC will fine the shit out of us,” Finn stated, shaking his head, his hands frozen over the dials.

“They don’t swear. Have you ever heard them use profanity? People who are on live TV just don’t have that habit, too risky.” 

Rose tapped her fingers on her lips thoughtfully. “Do it. 30 seconds, leave them hot.” 

Gwen and Finn took their hands off the dials, hoping that Rose was right.

“Your perspective is unbelievable,” Ben retorted.

“Is it, Ben? Is it? Or is it so logical that I blew your mind?” 

“Who in their right mind would think that guy deserves to be president?”

“Ohhhh I would say 52% of voters in this country. It’s a shame you have a problem with democratic elections.”

Poe pointed his finger, indicating they were about to go to commercial.

Rey faced the camera and smiled. “We will be back shortly, after this commercial break.”

Ben wheeled his chair over to her, his seat now right next to hers. “I hope you’ve settled down,” he almost whispered. 

Rey snorted. “Me? You’ve been acting like a petulant child this whole morning.” 

Ben looked at her and raised his eyebrow. “You know why, Rey,” he said with all seriousness. 

Rey kept her head down, reviewing her notes. “Actually, I don’t.”

“You left without kissing me goodbye this morning.”

She paused for a moment, then answered, “I’ll make up for it later. Tonight, my place? I’ll cook us some steaks, salad, your favorite mashed potatoes and if you behave, I might bake you a pie.” 

“What kind of pie?”

“Apple.”

“I forgive you, then.”

“But what if I’m not sorry?” 

Ben wheeled back to his spot, and they both looked up, ready in their places. The entire studio stared at them. Poe’s jaw dropped, and Hux’s arms were crossed with a frown on his face so severe Rey knew something had happened. Mitaka frantically paced in the back, talking to someone on his phone. She could see through the control room the stunned looks on Finn and Gwen’s face. But Rose? She grinned.

Ben spoke first. “Guys? Is everything okay?”

“We heard you. Everyone, we all heard you.” Poe’s face was still open in shock.

Rey gasped. “Thank God we were on commercial.”

Gwen and Finn shook their heads back and forth, and Rose was now cackling behind them. 

“No guys, as in the nation. They had a technical issue, and they didn’t cut to commercial. We’re on one now. We all heard how you ditched him this morning and are making up for it with apple pie, and that's when the control room got it taken care of. We are on in 5-4-3-2...”

Ben’s usual half smirk increased to a full blown grin, and Rey immediately met it with a prim smile of her own. 

“Welcome back, and since I am sure you’re wondering, the answer is yes, Rey’s apple pie is delicious.”

“I can’t believe that asshole made apple pie sound like a goddamn euphemism,” Rose hissed. She looked at her phone which had been lighting up since their conversation aired. “Ok time to handle my calls. I’ll answer them in my office. Finn, take over. There is no way we won’t be trending by the end of the show. Also, have the six of you meet me in the conference room after it's over.” She walked out of the control room and headed to her office to deal with the collateral damage. 

The moment the show ended, Mitaka ran up to Ben. “Sir, it's your mother, she’s been calling nonstop.” 

Ben chuckled. “I am sure she has. Send her a text letting her know I’ll give her a buzz as soon as I’m done here.” 

“She….she’s called fifteen times and sent twenty text messages. The last four did not end with xoxo, mom, which means she’s probably upset.”

“She’ll be fine. She’s just going to yell at me for not telling her about Rey.” 

Jannah walked up calmly to Rey with her phone to her ear. She said a polite, “Yes sir, I certainly will,” and hung up. “It’s your grandfather. He wants to know if this is….some sort of feeble attack?” 

Rey laughed. “My grandfather always thinks it's about him, but please assure him, it's not. This, this here, is about us.” 

Ben held out his hand, palm up, and Rey took it as he helped her step off the raised stage. They both headed to the meeting, holding hands. No longer in secret. 

+

Everyone waited silently for Rose to arrive, and no one had asked them about their relationship. 

“How old are you? I can’t believe you’re holding hands like you’re in middle school,” Poe chided.

“Yeah, and Rose is the principal. You guys are in _TROUUBLE,”_ Finn replied with a goofy grin. “Peanut, I can’t believe you never said anything. I thought you two hated each other.”

Ben raised an eyebrow, lifted Rey's hand to his mouth, and kissed the back of it softly. 

She giggled. “We did at first, but somewhere things changed. It was different. Hard to explain.”

“I never hated you, Rey, I think I—”

Rose burst into the room with a triumphant look on her face.

“ReyBen—Twitter has officially called you two ReyBen.” She had the same grin on her face from earlier. “You went viral the moment you whined to your girlfriend about a fucking kiss. God I never thought you were such a baby.” His eyes widened, but before he could reply, she continued, “I just got off the phone with Snoke, the head of HR, and since your relationship is consensual, there are no issues, but the two of you need to fill out a document.” She grinned, “So, how long has this been going on between you two?” 

Rey looked up thoughtfully. “Since the holiday bash, so about a year ago?” Ben smiled, her hand still hovering by his mouth.

Poe whistled and Gwen’s mouth opened in shock. Finn leaned over and gave Rey a hi five, while Hux slapped Ben on the back. When they all calmed down, Rey and Ben started to tell their story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **PROMPT:**  
>  “You left without kissing me goodbye this morning.”  
> “I’ll make up for it later.”
> 
> They’re news anchors on the most watched morning tv show. They’ve been secretly dating for months. And they didn’t realize their mics were on. 
> 
> Now the whole nation knows they’re sleeping together.
> 
> Big bold **THANK YOU** to my beta editor [TheAberrantWriterGirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/theaberrantwritergirl/pseuds/theaberrantwritergirl), she helped make it pretty.


	2. TWO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “These better be clean or I’m tweeting about your obsession with Korean face masks.”
> 
> He chuckled. “You hungry?” 
> 
> “Is there a meal in there as well?”
> 
> “No, just some power bars, but there’s an Italian place in your neighborhood that has amazing lasagna. It’s called Marie’s. They do takeout.”
> 
> Rey's stomach replied loudly with a growl. 
> 
> “I’ll take that as a yes.” 

**DECEMBER 23RD: LAST YEAR**

Rey sighed and stood at the bar, taking in the crowd for the night. She had two glasses of champagne during cocktail hour, but that was it. She was wearing a brand new dress from Tom Ford. It was a black, turtleneck gown with long sleeves and an oval high low cut in the front. The inside lining shone with silver sequins, glimmering when she walked. It fit her perfectly, molded to her body the way a dress should. Her shoes were causing her extensive pain, but other than that, for once, she truly felt good about herself, secure with her life and what she was doing. Her grandfather made an appearance to the party, taking a single picture with her and a group picture with Ben and his mother as well. He wished her well and told her he would again be staying in DC for Christmas as he had a lot of networking to take care of. 

“Yes, we don’t reconvene until January, but this is the time of year when I make my most critical deals—that's your grandfather’s secret. The few that stay in town are the most powerful, and of course never stop working. The capital is the real city that never sleeps,” he says with a chuckle. “My dear, you be safe, and remember never trust the Solos. Leia is always trying to get me one way or another, just like her mother. Her boy is a fool, so you have nothing to worry about.”

Rey smiled and gave her grandfather a quick hug goodbye. She knew he loved politics and power more than he loved her, but he always gave her insider clues, and twice he even told her to book specific politicians on the show, and on their week, scandals would break out which got _Morning Politics_ the first exclusive interview with them. She knew this was mainly to benefit him, but she also knew he could make a call to Fox and get the same results. He never showed her affection except for an occasional hug or a call on her birthday, but she knew he held her in high regard.

“Rey, earth to Rey, where are you?” Finn joked with his arm wrapped around his boyfriend.

“C’mon Rey, it's the Justin Timberlake song! _So just Dance! Dance! Dance!_ ” Poe sung with the lyrics, taking a swig from an almost empty champagne bottle in his hand. 

“No thanks, guys—my feet hurt like crazy. I’ll just people watch for now. I’ll be right here.” 

Poe leaned over and gave her a wet kiss on the cheek. “We love you baby, you know that? You might not have brothers or sisters, but _we_ are your family.” He downed the rest of the bottle, leaving it on the bar.

Finn shook his head. “You’re cut off, Dameron. Peanut and I don’t need your sappy _I love yous_ right now.” He faced Rey. “We’ll be back to check in on you.” 

She grinned, happy that her friends were enjoying themselves. 

As the crowd mingled, she was again alone at the bar, and another coworker of hers came up. 

“Rey—I have to say, you look as gorgeous as ever tonight.” His dark hair was messy and his tie was loose. He was clearly drunk, with a shot in his hand, and as always she could hear the confidence in his voice. His eyes raked her body, and he exhaled loudly. She couldn't read his mind, but she had a solid idea of the thoughts that are going through it.

“Thank you, DJ. I appreciate the compliment.” 

He moved closer, and his arm brushed hers. “I love that dress you’re wearing. You look out of this world. It's elegant and sexy.” He downed the shot he had and turned, his body facing her.

Rey leaned away, still facing forward, now uncomfortable. She looked over at Poe and Finn, but they were making out on the dance floor. 

“You know you’re the most beautiful thing here, right?”

“Yes. A thing.”

“You know what we should do right now?” 

She shook her head, not making eye contact. Her smile vanished.

“We should take off, go to my place. I don’t mind if you’re a conservative. If I’m being honest here, I think it makes you hotter than you already are.” He curled his hand and the back of his fingers raked up and down her arm. She stiffened and considered her options. She could make a scene, which would create headlines and innuendos about a dramatic fight at the holiday party, or file a complaint at HR that wouldn’t do anything. 

“Stop touching her.” 

Five mornings a week Rey would see a variety of Ben’s facial expressions. She knew when he was happy, annoyed, sad, upset, angry, and once, when his mother told everyone on live TV about the time he peed himself at Disneyland, embarrassed. The look on his face right now, though, was a new one. 

It was lethal.

“Heyyy, Solo. I’m sorry, man, but we’re kinda busy here. So if you could, please….” And with a downward palm wave, DJ shooed him away.

“Fuck off. She doesn’t want to talk to you.”

DJ's eyes narrowed slightly. “Since when did you two start fucking?”

“We aren’t,” Rey snapped. “Leave me be.”

DJ put his hands up as if surrendering. “Fine, but a word of advice: if you didn't want to get hit on, don’t dress like that.”

Ben forced his body between them and grabbed him by the jacket, lifting him up to his face. “Turn the fuck around and never speak to her again. If she wants to look stunning it's not for you. It's for her.” He leaned in and whispered something into DJ’s ear that only he could hear. He pulled his head away and said louder, “Trust me, I’ve done worse and gotten away with it.” 

DJ’s eyes were wide and terrified, and he squirmed to get away, but his jacket was still in Ben’s grip as he refused to release him. With a slight shove, he finally let him go. He collapsed onto the bar, and as soon as he regained his footing, he ran away. 

Ben turned and faced her, his eyes now filled with worry. “Are you okay?” He leaned over, grabbing a bottle of water on display. He opened it, handing it to her to drink. She took several sips.

“Im fine, thank you. I’m glad you happened to walk by.”

Rey didn't know when she fell in love with him, but knew the moment she realized that she had. Bazine Netal, the newest member of congress was on the show to discuss SB1176, and she spent the entire time flirting with him. She practically crawled into his lap and ignored all of Rey’s questions. Ben ate it up, nodding his head, eagerly chatting, running his hands through his hair, grinning like an idiot. Rey wanted to drag her off the soundstage by her long, sleek clip-in ponytail and toss her into the Mariana Trench.

“Do you want to go home? I can drive you. I haven’t been drinking tonight.”

Rey silently agreed. As they walked out, she asked him to slow down, pointing at her shoes. He stuck out his arm, and she leaned on him, slowly heading to the valet. Their relationship was, more often than not, tumultuous. They were the conservative and liberal perspectives for their generation. They clashed all the time, and even off camera they would argue—not just for practice. It just seemed right to be at odds with each other, as if that was the way it was supposed to be. 

He helped her into his Range Rover and made sure she was comfortable and her seatbelt was on before he drove off. He hadn’t asked her for directions or the address, but he had been to her apartment a handful of times for a few parties with their coworkers. 

She stared at her feet, no longer able to deal with the pain, or the evening for that matter, and yanked off her heels with a sigh of relief.

“Are you hurt?”

“No, it's these shoes. They’re killing my feet.”

His focus went back to driving, silent. She closed her eyes, appreciating the quiet hum of the vehicle as he drove through the city, the first bit of peace that she had in the day. She imagined that he was her boyfriend, and they were driving home. It took all her strength to not reach over and take his hand or touch his hair. 

It was quiet for too long.

“You know, your fans are going to hate you for saving me,” she teased, with her eyes still closed, living in her fantasy, “The headline tomorrow is going to be Ben Solo saves the conservative witch from her karma.” 

He laughed. “They’ll get over it.” 

They lurched to a stop at a light, and she opened her eyes to see him reaching behind to grab something out of a gym bag. 

He handed her two pieces of small, black fabric. “They’re clean and will keep you warm.”

It was a pair of socks. His socks. 

She slid them on, the soft cotton soothing her feet. “These better be clean or I’m tweeting about your obsession with Korean face masks.”

He chuckled. “You hungry?” 

“Is there a meal in there as well?”

“No, just some power bars, but there’s an Italian place in your neighborhood that has amazing lasagna. It’s called Marie’s. They do takeout.”

Rey's stomach replied loudly with a growl. 

“I’ll take that as a yes.” 

At the next light, he pulled out his phone and tapped the screen, placing an order.

+

“How did you know to get me two pieces of tiramisu?” Rey asked as she dove into the second one. 

“Last year’s wrap party, I sat next to you. You ate your salad, Jannah’s salad, breadsticks, steamed veggies, a filet mignon, lobster tail, and you tried two of everything from the dessert bar.” 

Rey smiled as she took another bite, remembering that evening. 

They were standing in her kitchen, their full meal spread across the island. The take out boxes of lasagna, salad, garlic bread, and fried calamari were empty, and now they were inhaling their desserts. Rey sat on a barstool in her gown, still wearing his socks. Ben stood across from her with his bow tie loose, rolled up sleeves, his jacket hanging on a nearby chair. 

“I wonder if they’re open tomorrow or the day after. I’m going to have to try more of the menu.” 

“Sheev seems too traditional for Italian on Christmas.”

“He is not only too traditional, he hates it as well. He can’t eat any of it due to his cholesterol and gout. It's literally everything he cannot enjoy. The veal, the cheese, all of it.”

“Are you trying to punish him for Christmas?” Ben smirked.

Rey laughed and shook her head. “No, of course not. He would probably toss it out the window and call me a young fool. He’s already back at the capital. I’ll be here for the weekend.”

“Alone?”

“It’s not the first time I’ve spent the holidays on my own.” Rey looked up at him, and she saw a familiar look on his face.

“Ben, don’t worry. I’m used to it. I get to relax for a couple of days and hang out with Clark Griswold, Kevin McCallister, and John McClane. I’m thrilled I found out Netflix has _The Santa Clause_. It’s another one of my favorites.”

Rey could tell he was not convinced, but he didn’t push it. She decided to change the subject. “So, this meeting next week with Rose, what’s it about?”

“It’s something that I would like to talk to you both about. I would feel guilty if I told Rose before you, and I’m pretty sure Rose would taze me if I told you before her.” 

Rey laughed, knowing her producer _was_ that ruthless.

He asked to use the bathroom, and when he returned, she noticed he had fixed his hair. He, in turn, noticed she’d eaten the rest of his cake. Neither one of them pointed this out, though. 

He helped her throw away the boxes, and as he put on his jacket, he gave her an odd smile. As he walked out the door, he turned around and blurted out, “Would you like to spend Christmas with my family?”

Ben’s questions usually fell in the realm of argumentative, loaded, or sarcastic. She stood there, speechless at his invitation. 

Before she could answer, a red color crept up his cheeks. “I just realized the last thing you’d want to deal with is my family and me during the holi— ”

“I could bring dessert. Would pie work?” 

“Sure, my family would love that.” He paused for a moment. “If you want we can go together, I can pick you up around four. Bring a movie, too. I'm sure my family won’t mind watching it.”

Rey’s eyes lit up, and she agreed. With a wave, Ben left, letting her know he would text her tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ Rey’s Dress](https://www.bergdorfgoodman.com/p/tom-ford-sequin-face-high-low-cady-long-sleeve-gown-prod149830289)
> 
> [ DJ ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/DJ)
> 
> Thank you so much to my awesome beta editor [TheAberrantWriterGirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/theaberrantwritergirl/pseuds/theaberrantwritergirl).


	3. THREE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leia rolled her eyes. “What dear, am I lying? You’re annoying, especially toward Rey.”
> 
> Ben huffed. “Whose side are you on?” 
> 
> “Hers. Put on your big boy pants and deal with it. Do I agree with her politics? No, but ever since you were a baby you’ve been a handful. Do you want me to show her your high school pictures?”
> 
> “Absolutely not.”
> 
> Rey meets the parents....and grandparents...and uncle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Dear Reader! 
> 
> Sorry its been a long long while. I upped the chapter count by one, and its definitely going to be completed for the holiday season. I hope you enjoy, these two really do share one brain cell. 
> 
> XO,  
> A
> 
> Thank you to cgarcia for reading this about 50 times, Jadedwarrior for her amazing input, and the biggest hug and thank you to my kick ass beta editor theaberrantwritergirl. She's amazing.

“Four pies,” Ben said with a chuckle. “You baked four pies for seven people. One of those better be an apple or I’m turning this car around.” Through his rearview mirror he glanced at the desserts that were piled on his back seat as he cautiously took a left turn into suburbia.

“To be fair, you and I could eat one a piece, and I didn’t bake an apple, I baked two—as well as one pumpkin and one pecan.” 

“My car smells like a bakery. Also—I can’t believe you own four pie containers. I didn’t even know pie containers existed.”

“Believe it, Benjamin.” 

Rey pulled down the visor and looked in the mirror again, running her hands through her soft waves that fell right to her shoulders.

“Are you…nervous?” 

“Of course I’m nervous. First off, what if they hate my pies? Secondly, it's Christmas dinner. Third, I am having dinner with Padme Skywalker and Leia Skywalker-Solo.”

"One, if your pies taste half as good as they smell, you’ll be fine. Two, Christmas dinner really is just dinner. Three, you’ve met my mom, and she loves you. Four, the only person who should be worried about her is me; I don’t know which humiliating story she is going to unload while passing you a dinner roll.”

“Do you think it will be blackmail quality?”

“Definitely. The Disneyland story is nothing compared to the noodle incident.”

“Noodle incident?”

Ben cringed.

Rey smirked but decided to change the subject, “I want to thank you again for inviting me, you say it’s not a big deal, but I know it’s a special day for families and this time of year really is meant to be with those we love most.”

Ben gave a single nod. “Agreed.”

“Though I must say, I do feel like I’m about to meet the firing squad.”

Ben laughed. “Don’t be afraid of my family.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, you come from a long line of well respected leftists. Are you saying we’re allies for the evening?”

Ben grinned. “You wish. My grandpa is a staunch conservative, and the FBI has been monitoring my father since the seventies. My uncle’s a pacifist, so politically, it's pretty even.”

They pulled into the driveway, and Rey saw the beautiful ranch style home trimmed in white Christmas lights, lush green wreaths at the windows, and a decorated Christmas tree on the lawn. 

As they walked up to the porch, the door swung open, and Leia stood before them, grinning. In between hugs she exclaimed, “Merry Christmas, so happy you’re joining us, Rey! Oh I can’t wait to sample all of these desserts. Come inside, it's cold.” 

Leia took her purse and coat. “Rey, is your jacket real fur?” 

Rey’s eyes opened wide with worry as she smoothed her knit gray turtleneck dress. “Uh yes, but it's vintage, it was my—”

“I love it. You can tell its vintage—is this beaver?” She smoothed her hands over the fur. “Oh honey don’t worry, I won’t tell the hippies,” she said with a wink. She hung her items in the closet. “My mother is going to love this—she was notorious for her ensembles while she was in the Senate, but I’m sure you knew that.” 

She tugged at Ben's shoulder, and he lowered his head so she could give him a kiss on the cheek. As he straightened himself, she fixed his shirt collar under his sweater.

“I’d like to say that it’s a shame that you aren’t spending Christmas Eve with your grandfather, but I'm selfish. I was so excited when Ben told me you were coming, and I think if my son and husband behave, I can convince you to come tomorrow as well.”

“Thank you so much Mrs.—”

"Leia. With the years that I’ve been debating Sheev, we’re practically family anyway."

Rey beamed. "I don’t have anyone else except for him. I can’t tell you how much this means to me."

"You’re welcome here for every holiday, and you should definitely come tomorrow—Han’s smoking a lot of meat so there will be plenty for you to enjoy."

"I truly appreciate the invitation, but I already feel like I’m imposing."

"Nonsense. You’ve dealt with my son day in and day out for the past three years without killing him, and with his attitude, it’s a miracle. I'm sure he's told you that the whole family watches every episode."

“Mom.” 

Leia rolled her eyes. “What dear, am I lying? You’re annoying, especially toward Rey.”

Ben huffed. “Whose side are you on?” 

“Hers. Put on your big boy pants and deal with it. Do I agree with her politics? No, but ever since you were a baby you’ve been a handful. Do you want me to show her your high school pictures?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Fine, I’ll just tell stories instead.” She reached up and rubbed her son's chest. “Did I ever tell you Benny here hated wearing clothes as a child? He would come home from school, strip down naked and ru—”

“Stop. Please stop.” Ben's face was red, and he ran his hand through his hair. 

“It’s not like I told her about the noodle incident.”

Han appeared out of nowhere. “Are you done humiliating our son?”

Leia’s eyes sparkled mischievously. “For now. I’m just trying to convince Rey to join us tomorrow. Here, help me with these pies.” 

“Will do, your worshipness. Rey, it’s great to see you again. Ben, your grandmother is napping on the recliner, but your grandfather and uncle are in the dining room snacking. Dinner is almost ready. Why don’t you pour Rey a glass of wine and introduce them? Leia and I will take these pies into the kitchen. Did you bake these? They smell amazing." 

Han and Leia headed toward the kitchen, and Ben introduced her to Luke and then Anakin, who immediately asked her about her gun collection and what kind she owned. As she laughed, Padme joined them, awake from her nap. Han suggested he give Rey a tour of the house.

They were now standing on the back deck which led to a forest, leaves crisp on the ground, the sun dipping into the horizon, beyond their view. 

“You know your family is lovely—you’re lucky to have them.”

He scoffed. “We have good and bad days.” 

Rey looked up at him with a raised eyebrow, questioning his statement, waiting for him to continue.

He cleared his throat and lifted his eyes away from her, shifting them to the sprawling backyard. “When I was a teen it was bad—real bad. My parents ignored my anger issues and sent me to my uncle—they thought him being a monk would help. At the time, I felt like I was a problem that they wanted to get rid of. Right when I started college, Luke and I had a huge falling out, so I isolated myself from them thinking they didn’t want me. It was my dad who brought me back, took him months, and he never gave up, hounding me until I came home.”

“Still lucky.”

“They’re far from perfect. I sit there and they don’t even listen to me, they just talk at me. They can get really self involved, and it's easy for them to forget I’m there, sometimes it's as if I don’t even exist. I can’t tell you how many times I’ll just go to the living room and watch TV by myself, and they never notice I’m gone.”

Rey tucked herself into his shoulder and hugged him, shifting so she could face the treeline. “I’m sorry to hear that, but I promise you, this is so much better than spending Christmas alone. It was about this time of year when my parents left me at my grandfather’s mansion. They dropped me off like it was a normal visit and never came back, I was a burden on their lifestyle. My first holiday was spent at a hotel in DC with nannies who barely knew my name. Appreciate what you have—I didn’t realize how lonely it is watching movies on my own, until tonight.” His arm shifted, and covered her back, making her feel safe.

“Hey,” he replied, “You’re not alone.”

She looked up, arms still around him.

“Neither are you.”

+

"It is beyond me how you don't agree. Maybe it's too advanced of an idea and you’re unable to conceptualize it." Rey elegantly sipped her wine, dinner plate empty.

"Unable to conceptualize? Are you serious? It’s just blatantly obvious that you’re wrong, and if anything, you’re reaching." Ben glared as he sat across from her at the dinner table.

“Reaching? All the facts are there.” 

“Facts? If you want to talk about facts we can. _Die Hard_ is not a Christmas movie. Even Bruce Willis says it's not a Christmas movie.” 

“It takes place on Christmas Eve, Ben. A husband goes to reconcile his relationship with his wife and then ends up saving her life from armed terrorists. The credits have a Christmas song. I don’t understand why you think it’s not a holiday film.”

“I don’t know, Rey,” Ben replied sarcastically. “Maybe because there are guns. Machine guns. Lots of killing. A bank robbery. The movie came out during the summer—it just takes place on Christmas.”

 _“Miracle on 34th Street_ and _Trading Places_ also came out during the summer. Does that mean they’re not Christmas movies?”

“Look, when I told you to bring a Christmas movie, I assumed you would bring something like _Home Alone_ or _Elf,_ not _Die Hard.”_

As they argued, Anakin leaned toward Luke and whispered, “Looks like they’re not taking a night off.” Luke chuckled and downed the rest of his kombucha.

“I did bring those movies,” Rey said. “But I also brought _Die Hard_ just in case.”

“In case what? Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger make an appearance? This isn’t the first time you’ve politicized a movie, and now you’re trying to convert this one into a holiday film to fit your narrative.”

“Narrative? What is my _narrative_?”

“The guns, and secondly they’re not terrorists but bank robbers. So yeah you are trying to politicize it. It is not a Christmas movie, just an action film.” Ben leaned back, triumphantly placing his hands behind his head, elbows sticking out.

“I’m not the only one who thinks this. A lot of people agree that this is a holiday movie. Even the writer is quoted _If Die Hard isn’t a Christmas movie, then White Christmas isn’t a Christmas movie_. It’s a Christmas movie. Get over it.”

“OK OK! Enough.” Leia waved her arms back and forth. “I have loved this discussion, but we should actually watch a movie about Christmas versus debate if a movie is about Christmas.”

Ben and Rey smiled sheepishly at the rest of the table.

Leia poured herself another glass of wine. “You know, I am truly going to miss this.”

Ben froze, and Rey looked at her, quizzically. 

“What will you miss? As far as I know we aren’t getting canceled, we had the highest ratings this month when Ben and I tore senator Tarkin to pieces on that awful bill.”

“I haven’t told her yet. I was going to let her know on Tuesday with Rose.”

“Tell me what?” Her eyes locked to Ben’s.

“My son, the idiot, has decided to be Ackbar’s campaign manager for the upcoming election. Careerwise, it’s the dumbest thing he’s ever done. Maybe you can sway him. He won't listen to me or his grandmother.” 

Padme nodded her head in agreement and took a bite from her plate.

Rey’s mouth was open, stunned. She recognized his facial expression. 

Guilt.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I didn’t intend for you to find out this way.”

Rey blinked several times and plastered a smile on her face. “Congratulations! He’s going to be so lucky to have you on his team.”

Padme interrupted her praise. “Politically, Ackbar is very strategic, but even with Ben in his corner, he doesn’t have a chance. It’s a total waste of his time. Rey, tell him what you really think, you’re the only one who can convince him.”

She looked at Ben, eyes wide. “I think we all know even after all these years, I’ve never been able to change his mind. There’s no use in trying to start now.”

Han jumped up and out of his chair. “I almost forgot. Come with me, son—I need your help in the garage.”

“Help with what? Last I checked I’m not even allowed in there.” 

“Will you just help me for five minutes? It won’t take long, but I wanna do it now, otherwise I’ll forget. He picked up his beer and gestured with his hand. “Let’s go—you, your beer, and that good boy sweater of yours.”

Before Ben could argue, Han walked over and flung open the door leading to the garage. Ben rolled his eyes, excused himself, and followed him. As they stepped out, Han’s voice rang, “It’s the falcon there's a problem with the—” The dinner table didn’t hear the rest as the door slammed shut.

Padme leaned over, “Rey, tell us, do you have any hobbies? What do you do for fun?”

“I like to repair cars. I started when I was a teenager, and it’s something I’ve always enjoyed.”

Padme smiled. “That's fantastic. Anakin and I watch you and Ben every morning over breakfast. I love your passion and dedication to your perspective.”

“It’s funny, when I was growing up I was your biggest fan. I’ve watched so many clips of your speeches in the Senate. It was very empowering for me to see a woman take on everyone, even my grandfather.” 

“WOOO HOOO!” Han shouted.

Everyone jumped.

Luke raised an eyebrow. “Looks like they got it fixed.”

Han’s head suddenly popped out the door. “Uh, everything is under control. Situation normal.”

Leia looked at him “What happened?”

Han looked at her, flustered. “We had a slight malfunction, but uh, everything’s perfectly alright now. We’re fine. We’re all fine in here, thank you. How are you?” He grimaced.

“How am I? Han—what did you break?” She stood up. “We should come in and help.”

Han shook his head “Uh, uh, negative, negative. We have an oil leak here now. Give us a few minutes to lock it down. Large leak….very dangerous.” The door shut again.

“You see, Rey,” Anakin said with a familiar half smile. “At least you now know, all of my grandson’s antics are from the Solo side.”

As they laughed, Ben and Han walked in. “What’d we miss?” 

“Nothing, Han. Let’s bring out the pies. I’ve been waiting for these all night.” 

+

 _Come out to the coast, we’ll get together, have a few laughs._ The resentful line from John McClane floated out of the sound system. Though there were machine guns firing every few minutes, everyone in the Solo and Skywalker clan was asleep, leaving Rey and Ben sitting between Luke and Anakin on the very large and very comfortable couch. Padme was out on the recliner while Han and Leia dozed on the loveseat. Anakin was sleeping next to Rey, and Luke was the last one to nod off, leaning his head on Ben’s shoulder, snoring lightly. 

Rey looked up at Ben. “Is it like this every year or am I that boring?”

“It’s like this every year. They all fall asleep leaving me to watch something they picked that I usually can’t stand. When I was young, they’d put me to bed early, but now it seems I’m the one that's putting them to sleep.”

He smiled slightly, and after a lingering look he turned back to the movie. Rey looked on, trying to figure out why he looked so guilty earlier, why he was leaning closer to her during the film. She pieced together the past twenty four hours. He protected her from DJ, took her home, brought her to Christmas dinner and made her feel like family. But she wasn’t family, never would be, and after tonight would likely never see these people again. As a child she hoped her parents would come back, but when she got older she promised herself to never invest in anyone that would abandon her. She was a kid when her parents left so she didn’t know better, but now, she had no excuse. She shifted, moving herself from him, her body no longer touching his.

+

Quietly, Leia and Han each gave Rey a big hug at the doorway, as Ben grabbed her coat and handbag from the closet while the rest of the family still slept.

“Ben!” Leia hissed. “Are you looking in her bag?” Ben jumped slightly and gave his mother a bewildered look. 

“I’m expecting you tomorrow. I don’t need any pies, just you. We all loved that you joined us.” 

“Thank you so much for everything,” she whispered, eyes wet, “This is the nicest Christmas I’ve had in a very long time.”

Leia pulled back and held her arms. “Christmas Day,” she replied, “will be even better.” Rey hugged her again, knowing she wouldn’t be coming back. 

+

“Dinner with your family, the sunset in the backyard, putting on _Die Hard_ , it was a consolation prize for leaving. Well at least you’ll be making more money.” She was sitting on the barstool facing him, arms crossed in front of her.

“No.” His eyes were focused. His mouth a straight line.

“No?”

“It's not for more money, I’m—”

“You hate me so much that you’re willing to take less money just to get away from me.” She exhaled heavily as a tear rolled down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away. “Get out.”

“What? No. That—that's not it Rey.”

“You’re bored.”

“Rey. Can you, for once, just pause?” he replied indignantly. “I’m trying to put this in the best way possible. This is complicated.”

She growled as she stopped the music that was playing through the speakers, Bing Crosby’s _I’ll be home for Christmas_ cutting off. Every time she heard that song, a tiny voice in the back would whisper _No, they won't._ It’s clearer now, he won’t either. She stood and faced him, dead on.

“I got so many offers to do other programs, events, my grandfather kept pressuring me to run for office in this county, but I didn’t. I never even considered it.” 

“You got offers?” he paused, “Why didn’t you take them?”

Her hands balled into fists. “I felt like even though we were on opposite sides you understood where I was coming from. Maybe it stems from my parents, but I just….couldn’t. But it’s clear now you don’t feel the same way. Message received, Benjamin, you hate me.”

His eyes snapped to hers, and he took a step closer. “That’s not true. I don’t—”

“Where’s the lie? You’re quitting to campaign for a man that your politically gifted family knows won’t win. It was easy for you to leave the people you love, so leaving me must be a cinch.”

His eyes narrowed slightly. “That’s a low blow.”

“You’re saying it's complicated, but what’s so _complex_? Are you worried I’ll yell at you? We were at each other's throats two days ago about SB1976, you didn’t seem too concerned then.” She crossed her arms. “You’re acting as if it’s because of me.”

Ben looked at her, shocked. He ran his hand through his hair and avoided eye contact. He looked down with a sad chuckle and gave her a half nod. 

The laugh made it harder to swallow.

She shoved him toward the door. He took a couple of steps back, surprised.

“Merry bloody Christmas. You couldn’t just let me watch my movies in peace; you couldn’t just let me be,” she choked out.“You had to take me with you, make me happy.” 

He stared at her, his mouth agape. She pushed him again, now in the hall. Snapping back to reality, Ben put his hands up, defensively. “Rey, I need you to stop, you’re overreacting, just listen for onc—”

“No, you don’t get to tell me I’m overreacting. I’m pretty sure you’d react the same way if the man you’re in—” She froze, with her hands on his chest, ready to push him again. 

His eyes widened, and his hands fell to her shoulders, fingers tightening around them. “In what, Rey? The man you’re in _what?”_


	4. FOUR

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben cut him off. “Can we not do this?” 
> 
> “Oh no, this is happening. Anyway, kids would bring food, or alcohol, others would smoke….whatever it is they would smoke. Solo was nervous—this is Han’s baby and Leia was so strict we called her The General.”
> 
> “Why does everyone tell humiliating stories about me?” 
> 
> “I dunno, buddy—maybe stop doing humiliating things.”
> 
> Rey smiled and affectionately rubbed his leg with her free hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I want to say thank you for being here- this chapter is a lot of firsts for me- completing a fic, and writing well...smut. So I hope you enjoyed the story. There are some links in the bottom notes- consider checking them out, trust me you'll appreciate them. 
> 
> Second I really want to thank my dear Alpha [TheAberrantWriterGirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/theaberrantwritergirl)for the beta, she's an amazing person and I seriously recommend getting a good editor to look at your work, especially when its someone who wants what's best for you. Thank you Hana, you're amazing. 
> 
> If you feel alone, or are searching for a community of likeminded people and you love to write or draw, Reylo Creatives on discord is a place to consider! Remember, you're not alone. Find us on twitter and get an invite! [Reylo Creatives](https://twitter.com/creativesreylo)
> 
> Also, special thanks to anon for making this amazing piece of art, seriously you rock!!!  
> 

The group held their breaths, waiting to find out what Rey was going to say.

“Back up. Han let you into the garage?” Poe interrupted. Everyone in the room turned and looked at him, clearly annoyed. “What? He’s banned from going in there. For life. He said something important, and I want to know.”

Ben cleared his throat and shook his head. “Nothing. He just had a question about the Falcon—that was it. He spilled some oil, and we fixed it.”

The tips of Poe’s fingers tapped on the table. “Bullshit. Tell the truth.”

“Fuck off, Dameron. That’s what happened.”

Poe cocked his head. “When we were in high school we wanted to look cool, so Tai and I convinced Benny boy to take the Falcon out. Every Friday night everyone, and I do mean everyone, would meet at the parking lot in the mall and hang.”

Ben cut him off. “Can we not do this?”

“Oh no, this is happening. Anyway, kids would bring food, or alcohol, others would smoke….whatever it is they would smoke. Solo was nervous—this is Han’s baby and Leia was so strict we called her The General.”

“Why does everyone tell humiliating stories about me?”

“I dunno, buddy—maybe stop doing humiliating things.”

Rey smiled and affectionately rubbed his leg with her free hand.

“So we hang out, look cool, and we go to leave, but when he backed out, he banged the bumper of the Falcon on a concrete pole behind us. He couldn’t see it—none of us did.”

The group reacted in shock.

“Oh yeah. Ben’s totally freaking out in the lot when this stoner kid skates up to us and says, ‘Ramen noodles. Just use crazy glue and Ramen.’ He then texts Ben a youtube link— that's in Chinese by the way—how these guys used Top Ramen to fix a dented bumper. Not only does it not work, but it makes the damage worse, much much worse. So he finally confesses to Han—who after laughing for about a week straight—bans him from the garage and touching the Falcon ever again. So tell us Ben, why did he let you in the garage?”

Ben shakes his head, standing his ground.

“I have four words for you. Throwback Thursday, Kylo Ren.”

“What’s a Kylo Ren?” Rey responded.

Ben ignored her question. “So here’s what happened.”

**Christmas Eve Dinner**

The door slammed shut behind Ben, and he chugged the last of his beer, sliding the glass bottle into the recycling bin next to the door. He reached for the mini fridge under Han’s workbench when Han’s hand lightly slapped the top of his, and before Ben could react, his father’s finger was in his face.

“You’re not allowed to touch anything in this room.” He opened the fridge, grabbed a bottle, popped the cap off, and handed it to his son.

“You told me to come in here to fix the Fal—”

“The Falcon’s fine. We’ve only got a few minutes before they suspect anything. Listen, kid—you need to tell her how you feel about her.”

Ben looked at him blankly. “Who?”

“Don’t play stupid with me.”

“She hates me.”

Han glared. “Look, you get the charm from the Solo side and the intelligence from the Skywalker side—not the other way around, so cut it out. Look at your uncle and grandpa. Pretty sure Luke’s still a virgin, and I can’t imagine another woman on this planet willing to deal with Anakin and his bullshit. Mr. _I Don’t Like Sand_.” Han raised a knowing eyebrow and took a gulp.

Ben nodded. “She’s my work colleague, and I’m not her type. Remember Skyler James?”

“Soon to be ex-colleague. What about that asshole—didn’t they break up a year ago?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m leaving the show, and in three weeks, I’ll be on a bus with Ackbar managing his campaign.”

“You’re not going to get over her sitting on a shitty bus with a bunch of dumbass politicos. Running away never solved your problems. After you leave, take her home, sit her down, and tell her how you feel. The rest of them haven’t picked up on it, but I see how you look at her.”

Ben walked around the Falcon, examining it. “She doesn’t see me like that.”

Han snorted. “Pretty sure you broke her heart about 3 minutes ago, and if she didn’t care about you, why is she spending Christmas with you and your family?”

Ben tugged at his beer again. “Why did she look happy with me leaving? She smiled, then congratulated me.”

“She’s Sheev’s grandkid. You think she doesn’t know how to lie?”

“I’ll tell her after I quit. Maybe. I don’t know. It’s kind of a lot to throw on someone on Christmas Eve.”

“Would you listen to me for once? Look, let's make a bet. I win, you tell her how you feel. You win, I never ask you about this again. Deal?”

“No deal. You always cheat.”

“I won't this time.” Han walked over to his work bench and pulled paper and pencils from a drawer, handing one of each of them to his son. Ben watched him cynically as Han scribbled something on his sheet, folding it in half and placing it under his beer.

“Write down the moment you knew you wanted to be with her. If I'm right, you tell her tonight. If I'm wrong, you get the Falcon.” Ben's eyebrow shot up, knowing how much he loved that vehicle.

He wrote his answer and handed the paper to his father. Han looked at the note, his face expressionless.

Ben sneered. “Where are the keys to my new car?”

With a frown Han chugged the last of his bottle, picked up his own note and shoved it into his son's chest walking over to the recycling bin. Ben read the words and his smile collapsed.

Han, in turn, popped open another beer, and before taking a drink, toasted his son and shouted, “Wooo Hooo!”

“Jesus, Dad, you want Mom in here?”

He strode over and stuck his head out the door. Ben couldn’t hear the words, but he suddenly heard the phrase, large leak, very dangerous, and Han was back inside, door shut.

“Tonight. You tell her. We made a bet.”

“What if she laughs at me? What if I make her uncomfortable?”

Han reached up and touched his son's face affectionately. “I promise you, she won’t.”

Ben exhaled, and Han quickly turned from him, popping open the driver door of the car that was parked next to them. He reached into the glove box, pulling out something shiny and handed it to Ben.

“What….what is this?”

“Last month Lando, Chewie, and I did a guys night out. Lando left it in the car. You might need it.” Han lifted his eyebrows and then snorted. “Even the condoms he buys have gold wrappers.”

Ben gave him a wicked grin. “You never had to buy the gold ones, huh?”

Han shrugged. “Never used them.”

Ben blanched.

“It was the 70’s kid. You know who else never liked them? Your m—”

“Don’t say it.”

Han put his hands up in surrender, with a glimmer in his eye. “When you kids are ready to start a family, let me know. Your mother and I bought this baby making book which specifies which position gets you the gender you want, and I’ll be honest, a granddaughter would be really nice. I’ll loan it to you. We wanted a boy first, so it definitely works. We dogeared the fu—”

“I don’t ever want to hear the end of that sentence.”

Han smiled and opened the garage door, heading back inside.

+

Ben scoffed. “Happy?”

Poe nodded. “Very, and dare I say a beautiful moment for the Solo men.”

“Wait—Han knew this whole time?” Rey interrupted.

“Um, yeah. But we never talked about it. I think he was glad he got me to tell you how I felt.”

“Oh my God.” She covered her face with her hands. “On Christmas Day your mom asked me to take him a beer while he was checking the smoker, and as I was out there, I complimented the backyard. He winked and said _it’s only missing grandbabies_.”

Rose laughed. “He did not.”

“One more question. We’re sure to get a ratings bump from this. Do we still need to meet this weekend?” Poe turned to Armitage. “Hugs, tell your wifey to cut us some slack.”

“I will do nothing of the sort. I trust her judgement much more than yours.”

Rose beamed, and Phasma rolled her eyes. The room settled down, and Poe waved his hand gesturing in a forward motion. “You may continue.” He leaned over to Finn. “Now we hear about the sex.”

“No, you don't!” Ben barked back.

+

Rey clamped her mouth shut.

“Finish your sentence, Rey.” His voice shook, low.

“I….I don’t want to. You don’t feel the same.”

He chuckled. “In the three years we’ve worked together, you’ve said a lot of outlandish, backwater, borderline conspiratorial, haughty, privileged stupid shit, but…” His eye twitched, staring at his feet. “Who says we can’t agree just this one time?”

Rey choked back a sob as she laughed. He wiped her tears and kissed her, pulling her closer, molding her against his body. Rey wasn’t sure when she did it, but she had wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him tight, her fingers twisted in his hair.

She pulled away to say something, but his mouth ran up her neck, his lips now on her ear. He whispered in a low gravelly tone, “I’ve wanted to do that since the day I met you.” He kissed her once more, much more deeply this time, and his hand shifted, making its way down to her waist. Rey pulled away again from him and shifted her hand into his, guiding him through the other hallway. As he followed her, he lifted her hand to his mouth kissing it. “Never letting go of this hand.”

She looked over her shoulder and with a gleam in her eye, opened her bedroom door, showing him in. He leaned over and kissed her as his hands worked their way to the back of her dress, and he unzipped it in one fluid motion. Rey stepped back and pulled at his sweater, flipping it over his head, and for the first time since the day they met, she saw his hair completely unfixed.

She giggled.

He issued her a lopsided grin. “What's so funny?”

She pointed. He looked himself in the mirror on her vanity, and with narrowed eyes, took a step toward her. She laughed harder as she stepped back, and she watched him take off his tie and unbutton his shirt. “Miss Palpatine, didn’t your grandfather warn you about my family?”

Rey nodded her head, and after taking another two steps back, she sat on the bed, watching him strip down. “He actually warned me about your mother and grandmother. You—he thinks you’re foolish, harmless really.”

Ben growled and lurched forward, issuing her a wet kiss, pulling away just as he yanked his shirt off. Rey took in the sight of him. Last year’s shirtless Vanity Fair article did him no justice. With a clink he tugged at his belt and gestured to her with his chin. “Dress, off.”

Rey nodded, dropping it at her feet, leaving only a black bra, underwear, and stockings. She looked up to see a slack jawed Ben, his hands frozen at the buckle, mesmerized.

She pointed with her chin defiantly. “Pants, off.”

He promptly kicked off his shoes, and with one swift move, dropped his trousers, stepping out of them to kiss her. He leaned her down onto the bed, her legs hanging while his mouth shifted from her lips to her neck down to her breasts. He pulled a cup down and his mouth sucked her tit as his one hand made its way to her back to unhook her bra. His other hand fully gripped her ass. She felt the straps behind her separate and his mouth pulled away from her briefly as he tugged it off moving his lips to her other breast. She moaned, running her fingers through his hair, spreading her legs. She felt how hard he was as his hands now made their way to her stockings, and with a certain finesse he peeled them off. “Too much,” he muttered into her skin. “You’re still wearing way too much.”

Rey snickered as he kissed her freckled skin right above her belly button.

“I’m serious,” he mumbled, and before she could respond, her underwear was on the ground, one side completely off, the other hanging off her foot. She blinked, and her legs were over his shoulders, and he buried his face into her center.

His tongue explored her folds, licking each of them, diving in and out. She lifted her head and watched as his eyes met hers. He stared, continuing to lick her everywhere. She shuddered when she felt him bury his face even more, grinding his mouth within her, sliding his lips back and forth, causing her body to jerk. His nose was pressing into her now, with one hand splayed on her waist, shifting her leg up, holding her in place and his other hand spread her other leg wide open on the bed giving him full access. He pulled away and slid a finger in, coaxing another moan from her. Ben’s hand moved in and out, and his lips skimmed their way up her body right to her waiting mouth. He kissed her again and again, pulling away each time he thrusted, creating a rhythm. He made his way back to her tits and sucked on each of them, sliding in a second finger. “You are so wet. Fuck.”

“Just for you.” Rey moaned in a daze as he thrusted deeper, harder.

He shifted, his knees again on the ground and his mouth back on her clit. He fingered her harder as the sounds she made got even louder. Rey’s legs spasmed, and Ben pulled his mouth away, looping his free hand around her raised leg over her stomach and back down to finger her clit. The other still slid in and out, Rey hid her face with her hands, moaning his name.

“Don’t cover your mouth, I want to hear every sound you make.”

Rey spasmed at the command and swore, her eyes squeezed shut, and his mouth licked her again.

It was sensory overload—his voice, his hands, how his mouth brought her to the edge. She opened her eyes to see him staring at her in awe. “Cum for me, sweetheart,” he said, and as soon as he finished his sentence, he turned his head to her inner thigh and swept his tongue up with one long lick, kissing his way back down to her clit, sending her over the edge, her back arching up as she shook, calling out his name.

As she babbled about her orgasm, he stood up, grinned, and tossed the decorative pillows on the ground, opening the bed, tugging her inside, her back against his chest. She felt his calm breath on her as he touched her everywhere, his fingers investigating her body. Still clothed. She turned around and kissed him tugging down his boxers, freeing his cock. He yanked them down further, shifting his legs to get them off.

She touched the head, smoothing the precum with her thumb, her eyes widened at the size. “This is a pleasant surprise,'' she murmured into his ear. “You think you’ll fit?” she inquired, as her mouth teased his earlobe.

He chuckled and nodded his head at the rhetorical question, pulling her mouth to his and he kissed her deeply, wrapping his arm around her, pulling her close. His tongue explored her mouth and his large hand caressed her back. Rey pumped him slowly, and he pulled his mouth away but pressed his forehead against hers. “I need to grab the condom from my pants.”

“I’m on birth control. I don’t mind.” She kissed him again as she gently stroked his cock.

Ben growled and pushed her away, turning her around and pulling her flush against his chest. His arm wrapped around her waist, shifting up and he tugged at a nipple. She felt his member slide between her folds exploring her center, wetting himself with her.

“I want to feel you,” he whispered, kissing her neck softly. “It….it's been a while so I’m probably not going to last that long.” Rey nodded as he kissed her neck and shoulder softly. A gentle thrust, a tiny gasp, and then he was inside her. He shifted his hand to her waist, holding her in place as he pumped in and out of her kissing her wherever his mouth could reach.

He thrusted deeper. “So wet. God you’re so wet.” He held her tighter, and she moaned louder as his cock plunged in and out of her. His finger teased her clit, rubbing it in pace with his cock. His thrusts sped up. With a spasm, he buried his face into her neck, muttering into her skin. He pulled her closer and moved her hair out of his face, resting his head behind hers, whispering praises meant only for her to hear. She turned and faced him, kissing him gently.

“I love you, Ben.”

He sighed contentedly. “I know.”

She tucked herself closer, and affectionately scratched his back. “I have a question.”

“Anything.”

“Did you ever want to tell me?”

“Every morning. You?”

“Same.” She paused, thoughtfully. “Did you ever almost do it?”

“I actually tried.”

Rey perked up, and looked at him “I don't remember you—”

“Bazine Netal.” He shushed her. “The Netal interview, you were….feral, I’d never seen you be rude to a guest before. I was giddy the entire episode, waiting for it to be done so I could ask you out. She kept hitting on me, and the jealousy rolled off you. When Bazine rubbed the inside of my thigh, you snapped a pencil in two.”

“You saw that?”

“Saw it? I went home and jerked off to it.”

Rey groaned and buried herself into his chest. She pulled away. “Wait—so when did you try?”

“I went to find you after the show, but Rose said you immediately left for some gala. I spent all weekend thinking how I could ask you out or what I should say, so on Monday I sent flowers with a note to the studio, knowing you’d get the message.”

Rey shook her head. “I would have remembered.”

“The daisies. I thought the note was subtle but obvious. I was trying to be professional, but I wanted to impress you, show you that I cared, so I sent you your favorite flowers.” He paused. “I should have put my name on the card.”

“The six dozen daisies were from you?”

Ben recited the note on the card, word for word. “Let’s talk about Friday over dinner, shall we?” He grunted. “It was a shit coincidence you met Skylar that same night. When I walked into the green room that morning, you two were flirting, and he’d already taken credit. You looked happy, so I thought I was wrong—wrong about everything.”

Rey dug her face into his chest. “I’m going to murder that political hack.”

Ben chuckled and cocooned her with his arms. “Merry Christmas,” he whispered.

“Merry Christmas,” she replied, and they closed their eyes to sleep.

+

“Welcome back to this week’s episode of Last Week, Tonight, and well, we all know you didn't watch this entire episode for my face, but for the fine specimen of a man who's sitting next to me, Benjamin Skywalker-Solo.” John turned and faced Ben, waving to a screaming audience.

“Welcome. Ben. Now two weeks ago, _The Day The Earth Stood Still_ as I like to call it, you agreed to be on this show, and I was so thrilled. I thought to myself, this is it, this is my moment—no scratch that—our moment.”

Ben laughed. Unlike his work attire, he was more casual, wearing a collarless shirt, suit jacket, jeans and sneakers, his one foot sat lazily on top of the other. He looked at John, and with a raised eyebrow replied, “With one caveat of course.”

John faced Ben, a big smile on his face. “Gallop all over me, you oversized stallion.” The audience roared with delight. “Strangle my neck, you billowing hurricane.”

Ben laughed harder. “I could if you’d like.”

“Could what?”

“Choke you, if that's why you wanted me here.”

John’s eyes lit up. “You cheeky bastard, no one likes a cock tease, least of all me.”

Ben laughed harder, and took a sip of his coffee. “I’ve done it before, so if you want me to choke you, I’ll do it.”

John shifted his chair and immediately faced the camera in front of him. “Now I know what you’re all thinking, and the answer is yes, I am still married, and no, I’m not sure for how long.”

He turned to Ben once more. “You, on the other hand, are not married, correct?”

Ben shook his head.

“But you are, in fact, in a very serious relationship with Rey Palpatine, who we, on this very show, have nicknamed the dark lord’s right hand.”

Ben laughed.

“You sir, are a monster!” John wildly pointed an accusatory finger at his guest.

Ben grinned. “Yes, I am.”

The audience screamed and cheered at his confession.

“Now back to the day you accepted our invitation, you knew how I would interpret you coming on this show, and yet you still agreed.”

“Of course.”

“You have no idea how it felt that day, you first said yes to being on this show and then ninety minutes later I found out you’re in a relationship with Rey, and it was like you ripped out my heart and played football with it, and I’m talking about real football here, Ben, the kind that is played continuously for ninety or so minutes and the players overzealously fake injuries. But unlike football, the injury I felt that morning, along with fifty percent of America was definitely real, and since I'm sure you’re wondering, the answer is of course I liked it. What have you got to say for yourself, Benjamin Skywalker-Solo?! You’re sleeping with the enemy!” The audience applauded and whistled at John’s accusation. Ben shook his head and again drank from his mug.

“Since we're talking about political and romantic enemies, we have a surprise guest. I didn’t think she would show her face when I invited her, but she has arrived, cloak and all. Ladies and gentleman, the dark side herself, Rey Palpatine.”

The audience applauded as she stepped out onto the soundstage waving to them. John stood up, walked up to her, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. As he walked back to his chair, she took a seat next to Ben, and he immediately grabbed her hand, kissed it, and pulled it into his lap.

“Now, Rey, you say a lot of wild things during your show. We all know your perspective, and yes, sometimes Ben makes statements that are over the top as well, but that morning I heard the most outlandish sentence in the four years since you two have started working together. You left, without kissing him goodbye. I have one question for you, and one only—how does one leave and not kiss that perfect mouth?”

Rey’s eyes glittered as she looked from Ben to John. “I had a core pilates class that morning, and he was still sleeping. I didn’t have the heart to wake him.”

He spun and faced the audience, arms open. “Core pilates ladies and gentleman, she literally wanted to be on time for core pilates. Another prime example of her privilege! For your reference, I would never, ever, ever, leave without kissing you goodbye.”

Ben and Rey both laughed at John as he glared at them.

“You know what I think is the wildest part of your relationship? How you spent a year hiding it from everyone. This is the United States of America—we have the right to know!” He emphasized each word by jabbing his finger on the desk. A handful of audience members whistled. “To be honest I don’t know how you two, FBI man or woman or people, who spy on you, kept it under wraps. So tell me, and the rest of the world of course, why did you do it, and is it true that this was something only you two knew about? Which one of you was more embarrassed to be dating the other?”

The audience laughed hysterically.

“Well, in the past, Ben and I both had relationships that were public, and with the paparazzi, the gossip, and media, it can add a lot of pressure. We just decided to keep it to ourselves for a couple of weeks while we figured it out, and then we just….kept on going.”

“I see, so we know that you two have been together a year now, but when did you really start liking each other, was it mutual or did one of you wear down on the other?”

“We had this guest, and right in the middle of the interview, I realized I had fallen for him. It was the best and worst feeling, I was head over heels for this man and it was unrequited. He’s this amazing human that’s humble and honest, wildly attractive, and—”

“You’re the granddaughter of evil incarnate.” John finished her sentence.

Rey laughed and nodded in agreement. “Exactly.”

John shifted and looked at Ben. “And you, Benjamin, tell us, when did you stop being so aware of Rey’s maleficent political perspective?”

Ben cracked a smile. “The first episode—when we were just a series. She called me a spoiled man child whose mommy probably never told him no—and that was it.”

“The first episode?” Rey said slowly, and as if becoming aware of her insult, she quietly asked, “Did I really say that to you?”

“Yeah. I knew right then I was going to ask you to dinner. It was this mix of you being pissed off and gorgeous and adamant about your perspective. It was hot.” He shrugged. “When they offered to sign us for a morning show, I just thought—she hates me anyway.”

Rey leaned up and kissed his cheek. “I’m sorry about the comment. I now know that Leia never let you get away with anything.”

Ben glared at her, with only the upturned corners of his mouth indicating amusement.

“That is disgustingly romantic if you ask me,” John said. “I see the lovey dovey looks on your faces. Thank God there are no beds in the studio.” The audience laughed again. “So Twitter has dubbed you ReyBen which is cute but not as catchy as OliSolo.” The audience cracked up even more. “But honestly, you two definitely make a beautiful couple, and it's clear you’re very happy and that's the most important thing….. Is there any other awful news you want to share with the rest of America? Because right now you two are grinning harder than Enric Pryde when he got that warships bill passed last summer.”

Rey burst into laughter only to have John flail an accusatory finger. “Don’t you dare laugh, Palpatine, you totally backed that bill.”

Rey shook her head and raised her palms up. “John, I’m sorry but—” she turned her hands over “—more bad news I’m afraid.” The camera zoomed in and focused on her hand which wore a delicate yellow marquise cut diamond on her ring finger. The audience gasped louder than ever, and Ben put his arm around Rey, kissing her temple.

John leaped out of his chair and yanked up the both of them hugging them and congratulating them each. He then grabbed Rey’s finger and looked at the ring up close. “Rey—I don’t know much about jewelry, but that my friend, is no cubic zirconia. Do you know how many people you could feed with this? You could probably buy a small country, name it, I don't know, Naboo, and still have enough to build an estate there.”

“It was my grandmother’s ring, but something about it just reminded me of her.”

John looked from him to Rey and gleefully commented, “Cheapskate. Hand me down diamonds, I changed my mind, you can keep him!” He then turned to the audience. “That's all for tonight everyone, thank you for watching, and congratulations to the happy couple!”

The ending song credits ran, and the audience cheered as the episode ended, with John standing in between Rey and Ben as they happily waved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to the very sweet [Benduo](https://www.archiveofourown.org/users/benduo/pseuds/benduo) For finding [Rey's Engagement Ring!](https://www.tmwjewels.com/products/art-deco-marquise-fancy-intense-yellow-internally-flawless-diamond-engagement-ring)
> 
>   
> Ramen Noodle Repair is a thing. Youtube it or check out the [Youtube Video Ben Watched LOL](https://youtu.be/D3SZpZoYPMo) SIDE NOTE DONT LOOK AT THE YEAR IT WAS UPLOADED hahahah bad continuity I know.


End file.
